Axpo's transformation journey

Headquartered in Baden, Switzerland, Axpo is the country’s largest producer of renewable energy and an international leader in energy trading and the marketing of solar and wind power. With more than 7,000 employees, Axpo serves 30+ countries across Europe, North America and Asia.

With an ambition to reduce complexity, prevent cybersecurity breaches and enhance efficiency, Axpo wanted to consolidate its different technology systems. The company had also been through a period of change in recent years – so it made sense to bring together different business processes. A cross-border team, led by Deloitte Switzerland, has been supporting Axpo in its digital transformation efforts.

Roman Müller, partner in Technology & Transformation, Deloitte Switzerland comments, “We focused on digitising Axpo’s operational processes to enhance efficiency. Alongside this, we sought to modernise its infrastructure to meet the evolving demands of the energy sector and maintain its role in supplying a significant share of Switzerland’s energy needs.”

Many businesses today use enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms to manage their finance, human resources and supply chains. For Axpo, which previously had three different SAP systems and two procurement systems, the overarching goal has been to move onto one single platform, using the SAP S/4HANA Private Cloud Edition.

Having multiple platforms led to non-standardised and often manual business processes. The ERP software we implemented brings together business processes such as finance, human resources and supply chains – improving decision making and transparency.

Axpo collaborated with Deloitte to reimagine the company's system landscape and create a new experience for its employees and customers. Our cross-border team included SAP experts from our global Deloitte network, including Switzerland, Belgium, Ireland and Luxembourg. The team was also supported by professionals from our delivery centres in India and in Central Europe across multiple countries.

Fabio Peduzzi, Programme Lead, Axpo Services AG comments, “Successfully going live with SAP S/4HANA in October 2023 with Axpo Trading, in 2024 with Axpo Grid and in 2025 with Axpo Power lays the foundation for Axpo’s future growth and success.

"Reaching this milestone was made possible by exceptional collaboration across all teams and implementation partners, technical and functional expertise, and leadership. Working with Deloitte enabled us to move swiftly to modernise our business for the future.”

This large-scale transformation programme impacted over 900 Axpo employees, from how their expense receipts are processed, to how vendor invoices are approved and paid. The new system has even empowered Axpo to manage its energy trading business through a centralised real-time energy trading platform – addressing what had been a risk for the company prior to the change. 

As part of its modernisation strategy, Axpo is investing in digitalisation of its biomass plants that convert waste into renewable energy. Reflecting on the programme Roman Müller comments, “This important step in Axpo’s ongoing efforts to incorporate more sustainable energy sources shows how digital transformation can help traditional sectors innovate and contribute to a greener future.”